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UK Youth Parliament
The UK Youth Parliament (UKYP) is a national charity that has members of young people from all over the United Kingdom. The group is growing in size every year and turnout in the 2006 elections was over 400,000. Introduction The Youth Parliament receives funding from the Department for Education and Skills (DfES). Over 400 young people are elected from across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland annually to represent the views of their constituents to the government and local decision-makers. The UKYP produces an annual manifesto which mirrors the remit of government departments. They also hold an annual sitting at which the manifesto is put together and ratified, as well planning national campaigns on issues of importance to young people. The UKYP currently supports campaigns including votes at 16 and a national concession card for young people. The 7th Annual Sitting was held at the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, from Friday 20th July to Monday 23rd July 2007. Over 350 MYPs attended from all over the UK to design this years' campaigns; improving Sex and Relationships Education, Votes at 16 and cheaper, more accessible transport for young people. Governance UKYP has a 21 member Board of Trustees who are drawn from and represent the various stakeholder groups of UKYP. UKYP is a registered charity governed by a Board of Management. The Registered Charity (No. 1084716) is called Democracy for Young People Ltd. (t/a United Kingdom Youth Parliament). UKYP is an Associated Company Limited by Guarantee (No. 4147120). The Board of Trustees is also the Company's Directorship. Over half of the positions on the Board are reserved for young people aged 18-25 who are elected regionally by Members of Youth Parliament every two years — each of these 12 Trustees represent young people in UKYP from their region — the nine English regions, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. The Board of Trustees is responsible to the Membership for ensuring that UKYP fulfils its objectives as defined in the charity's Memorandum and business plan, and have specific responsibilities which include the management of UKYP staff and finances and strategic planning. The Board has the Sub Groups which enable work to completed outside of meetings and for the wider Membership, supporters and expertise to be drawn in as necessary. These are: *Audit, Finance and Property *Corporate Development *Human Resources Current members of the Board of Trustees: Chair-Chris Bennetts (representing young people in Yorkshire and the Humber) Vice-Chair- Samuel Ellis (representing young people in the East Midlands) Vice-Chair- Charles Hendry MP (representing the Conservative Party) Frederick Bernas (representing young people in London) Chris Hutton (representing young people in the North East) Natascha Engel MP (representing the Labour Party) Chris Ashley (representing young people in the North West) Melody Hossaini (representing young people in the West Midlands); David Taylor (representing young people in the East of England) Sally Keverne (representing local authorities in England) Stuart Mullan (representing youth organisations in Northern Ireland) Hilary Lyn (representing youth organisations in Scotland) Barry Thomson (representing young people in Scotland) James Moody (Lead Trustee for Finance) Jayesh Rajyaguru (representing young people in the South West) Billy Jones (representing young people in the South East) Ashley Sweetland (Lead Trustee for Corporate Development) Jenny Willott MP (representing the Liberal Democrats) Procedures Group Each of the UK Youth Parliament regions and nations elect two people to represent them on the Procedures Group of UK Youth Parliament; this group acts as a representative body of UK Youth Parliament as a whole and fills the Executive gap in UKYP. The Procedures Group is a management committee responsible for a number of key functions including * National consultation * Decisions about the Annual Sitting * Representing the opinions of MYPs on national issues * Acting as the communication link between regions * Acting as the communication link between Central Office and MYPs The Procedures Group help to set the national direction and make procedural decisions, but only do so as representatives as their regions; elected Members of Youth Parliament remain at the centre of all decision making. Central Office UK Youth Parliament has a dedicated team of Central Office staff who help to secure funding and deliver the wishes of MYPs and the Procedures Groups, responsibilities range from the organisation of national events to the administration of the website. This team is currently headed by Andy Hamflett, who is UK Youth Parliament's Chief Executive and works to secure increased funding and opportunities. Kate Parish, UKYP's Head of Programmes was one of the first to be awarded with a National Council for Voluntary Youth Services Award, reflecting her contribution to the promotion of Youth Involvement and Participation. Campaigns The major three campaigns that UKYP is currently working on are: * 'Transport' * 'Sex and Relationships Education' * 'Votes @ 16' The 'Transport' campaign has seen a focus on lower fares for young people, and a national standard subsidy card for young people to create equality and encourage them to use public transport for long-distance journeys. Currently most subsidy cards only apply to specific geographical areas. The 'Sex and Relationships Education' campaign is focused on increasing awareness of the importance and implementation of SRE in and out of schools. It is recognised that whilst all schools must teach it, the way in which it is taught is entirely up to schools, leading to huge inequality in standards across the secondary education system. 'Votes @ 16' has seen a focus on MYPs being asked to contact their local representatives and convince them to give their support for the movement. UKYP is also a member of the Votes at 16 coalition. Views of UKYP UKYP has a working document manifesto which details its position on any significant issues in which it has an interest. This document is being continually updated through UKYP's Private Members Bill system which allows MYPs to propose anything that should be added to, amended or removed from the document. The current system is based closely on the three reading system used by the UK Westminster Parliament, though some members of UKYP's Procedures Group have expressed an interest in simplifying the system to make it more accessible to use. Criticism UKYP has been described by Daily Mail columnist Tom Utley as "sublimely fatuous"Daily Mail article: 6th December 2007 and may have issues of tokenism.Youth Participation in the UK: Bureaucratic Disaster or Triumph of Child Rights? It is also claimed that young people from marginalised groups are under represented.Involving young people in decision making and local democracy A major criticism from within the organisation itself, is that the Youth Parliament's time and resources are monopolised by a select few, essentially the emergence of its own "bureaucrats". References External links *UKYP Home Page *Youth Participation in the UK: Bureaucratic Disaster or Triumph of Child Rights? Category:Youth